Snow Angel

Maine winters are brutal, especially when I was a kid in the 60's - 70's, the snow would pile up. Each year after the first storm, I get excited to go out and play. Now I have my own wee one to hop around the yard, pull around in a sled and make snow angels with.

Possibly the most horrendous thing that ever happened to my family while growing up involved a snow angel. It's a terrible terrible sad story. Horrible really.

Our neighbor about 5 houses away from us had a young boy that had learning problems. He was the local retard. His family put him to work on their farm. He was big and strong, and although not the smartest person, he pulled his weight on the farm. I can only guess his age around 13 or 15... maybe older, but not by much.

One early dark winter morning while his family was still sleeping, he woke up, looked outside, and saw heaps of untouched snow. Early in the winter the first big snow is really exciting to kids, and so he put on some boots and a snorkel jacket (and nothing else), and went out in the field to play.

He was plopping down making snow angels. The snow angels lined up across the field, one after another. When everything is covered by snow, it's hard to tell where you are. The poor boy had no idea that he was in the middle of the road when my father, returning home from work in the early morning, ran right over him. He was not visable at all, laying deep in the snow. A huge clunk made my father stop his vehicle, and the streak of red down the road made it evedent that something had died under his wheels.

The cops came quick, assessed the situation and that was that. We never talked about it much. The police did not hold my father accountable, for there was no way to see the boy. The family had no idea he had gone out so early all alone. It was a sad thing, and I think about it any time I see a snow angel.